A cross-party group of MPs have written to the Prime Minister to express “deep concern” over the decision to cut the UK’s aid budget.

Sir Keir Starmer announced last week that the government planned to cut its annual aid budget from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent to pay for a 0.2 percentage-point boost in defence spending.

The decision was criticised by charity leaders, who called the move “short-sighted” and “appalling”.

Sarah Champion, chair of the House of Commons International Development Committee, has today written to Starmer to voice the committee’s “deep concern” over the cuts.

The letter said: “Increased defence spending is undeniably needed and to be welcomed. However, our development spend protects not only the most vulnerable across the world but also the UK’s security, not least by helping to prevent conflict in the first place. 

“Cutting ODA further to fund increased defence spending is a false economy that makes us less safe.”

Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, said a commitment to allocate 0.7 per cent of gross national income to development assistance was “enshrined in legislation”, despite not having been achieved since the previous government’s reduction to 0.5 per cent in 2021.

She said: “This commitment has been a cornerstone of the UK’s international standing, supporting global efforts to address poverty, inequality and climate change. 

“This brutal further cut to ODA risks undermining our soft power, as well as years of progress in areas such as healthcare, education, clean water and sustainable development.”

Champion added that in 2023, £4.2bn of ODA was spent domestically on in-donor refugee costs, amounting to 28 per cent of the UK’s entire aid budget. 

She said: “Unless the Home Office can drastically reduce these costs in the next two years, the UK is set to spend just under half of its ODA budget on domestic refugee costs by 2027.

“The impact that this will have on the FCDO’s ability to support its crucial humanitarian and development work is almost unfathomable. The department, as well as the wider development sector, desperately need clarity on the implications of this cut, so that they can try to mitigate the impacts on their vital work.”

In the letter, the committee has urged Starmer to provide clarity on a number of questions regarding the cuts before 19 March, including whether the redunction will be managed by tapering the ODA spend across the coming two years or a full reduction in 2027/28.

It has also asked Starmer to confirm whether in-donor refugee costs will continue to be classified as ODA and what the government’s target reduction is for these costs.

The letter also asks Starmer whether an impact assessment on the effects of the ODA reduction has been carried out, if the results of this will be published and whether there are any plans to revise the affordability criteria for returning to the 0.7 per cent target.